Pace of life, decision making, motivation, freedom and wealth

Compared to most people in developed countries today, the traveling life I live is relatively simple. The pace of life in a metropolitan area such as Sydney is so drastically different to the pace of life in towns found not far south of Sydney. There is a frustration that builds in air in these cities that seems to make people anxious and high strung. By having a short temperment you never have enough time in the day and are rushing around, crowding and meshing with too many people in the same place. Congestion. Traffic. Hostility. It spreads among people so easily, and before you even know it you started the day off on the wrong foot. Simplicity is the key, but boredom is the cost for the generation of today. In these small beach towns there is only one post office, one supermarket, one gas station, etc. You can go to the beach and walk along for hours and not see another living person the entire day. It is so much more fulfilling and genuine when life is this simplistic. The pace of life here is slow and very laid back. In these towns everyone knows literally everyone else who lives there, as the same people are seen again and again on a daily basis. Matter of fact you are on a first name basic with everyone in town. In this place the one's daily tasks and errands require so little effort to achieve. There is no traffic, no lines in the stores, and pleanty of parking spots. Things become so easy and pleasureable but until you've experienced the opposite, you don't understand or appreciate this simplicity. Why would you want to have to work so hard, and go through so much to get what you want in life? Maybe because most people don't know what it is they want out of life. In the city working as a parent and making payments on a home and car in the fast paced world is really intense. It is a full time, non-stop affair. Wake up, have a run, shower, take the kids to school, go to work, feed the kids, pay the bills, and drive in traffic and line up with the rest of them. Aren't we all after the same thing? The people who live the fast paced life of the city make hundreds of decisions every day at a whim, you get used to being in the fast pace and become part of the flow. You don't have time to think, you don't have time to relax, or to do anything for that matter. It seems like money can't be saved because your taste keeps growing for richer things.. On the other extreme, when you live in a small town with a slower pace, you make less money and drink cheaper wine and non-fancy cheese that people in Sydney might enjoy. You live a lower means because you make less money then you would living in Sydney. You exchange money made and your consumption level with having more time in your day. Don't people these days always seem to chasing time, and losing control of it? Time is money. We never have enough time. But what if you did? Would you know what to do with it? Would you be ok alone with nothing but your thoughts? In the small town, what used to be a very small decision to you living in the city becomes a large one. In fact, decision making as a whole becomes difficult to do if that town is very small and the pace very slow. I have more time then most people would know what to do with. Things slow down and become so simple, you eat when your hungry and sleep when your tired. There is no hard-wired agenda that must be followed. You can do anything and go anywhere on a whim. But in this simplicity, I find myself struggling to make decisions and stressing out about where to travel to next, and i worry about making the right decision so as the get the best surf possible on any given day. This also relates to general motivation that you experience in life considering your circumstances. Do you ever find that when you are in a routine of doing a number of given things on a regular basis that it is almost effortless? Its all part of a routine and you almost don't even notice the actions as they are hard wired into your day and life. When you are living at this kind of pace its easy to fall into and develop a rhythm to it. You stop thinking so much about things and merely go through the motions. On the opposite end of the spectrum if you are lazy and used to sitting around 'bored' on the couch, the easier it becomes to do less. You ae no longer proactive, no longer motivated. You become more lazy and tired the less you do, its a self-fulfilling circle. People get familiar with doing nothing and a pattern develops of sitting around and becoming a sort of couch potato. Enter now television, media, internet, the news, video games. These things numb the mind, taking proper and healthy thought into a whole different realm. This realm tells you what you need to have and what 'society' says is important. It tells you not what to think, but what to think ABOUT. You need to have this product or act like that to be happy, just look at these people on your TV! If you have this Iphone, or that pair of jeans, and look like this girl who is starving herself to be thin, YOU will be happy too! Most people can't put their finger on what makes THEM happy because they follow the masses and what modern day media says is happiness. Consume. Get a better computer, a flashier car, a nicer watch, these will make you accepted. Now you fit in with the next guy, with society. Who are you impressing and why? This is exactly what the government wants to achieve in the name of future progress. Think less for yourself, be occupied with what they say, and consume more and more. Let the day slip by and don't veer too far from the flow of 'progress'. One of the most profound things I have discovered over the years of travel is that simplicity is freedom. Don't be attached to material objects and you can do anything and go anywhere with ease. You can do whatever you set your mind to. People are enslaved by material posesions. The more posesions you have, the less free you really are. Freedom and money are polar opposites. The more things you have, the more they can weigh you down and control your life. It becomes an obsession to masses of people, always getting more toys and things that they don't have time to enjoy. Furthermore, the more grand your posesions, the less appreciation you seem to have of them. Someone owning a mansion overlooking the beach in a metropolitan area experiences a lower value to life. The work to get you there and the person you become to get there is not the same person that you began with. If you want to be rich, you must give up your freedom. Being truly free has nothing to do with having a big house and fancy car and popular with other wealthy people. Being free means have a wealth of life, not material wealth. Being free in your headspace means being free of this desire of material posesions. The person who is camping on the beach in front of that same mansion on the beach is the one truly living their life to the fullest. Closer to nature, in the environment and among life and free thought. If you take that mansion and the comforts that he/she was accustomed to, the person would be in agony. You might even call it a form of torture in a strange way. You quickly develop a comfort for a high standard of living, the fine wines, food, and accomodation that it makes you spoiled. You can't have less and still be happy. Your appreciation for things goes down unless its at the standard you are familiar with. You develop a need for this lifestyle. Until you have had nothing, you have no concept of what is truly important to you. If you have nothing in life to begin with, you have no idea what it would be like to be living as a wealthy person. Ignorance is bliss. In this simple view of the world, family is so important, and relationships with people are very strong. Instead of watching tv and eating take out food, you cook your own food that is not only much healthier for you, but a time to be together as a family and live. The quality of life for these people is so high, yet they don't realise it either! These people long for the city, for the excitement of the hustle and bustle modern world. For technology, to be in style. They are tired of their repetitive lifestyle and embrace that change. We always want what we don't have. If you are poor, you are happy but desire riches. If you are wealthy you have the ends but can't find the happiness. When surfing in these remote places people are so happy in the water, smiling, joking, and full of life. Even back home I find that people are too serious in the water, and more shockingly not happy doing what they once loved. It too has become part of the commercialisation of the modern day. You must have that big name brand board, able to do an air reverse, and have that logo or sponsor on your board. What ever happened to just having fun and enjoying yourself? All you need is a place free of the many obstacles out there in the modern world that distract you from the simple life you once had. Distracted from truth that is right under your nose, but cannot see. Not many people have the ability or financial freedom to explore the world and find out the truth for themselves, or do have the ability but not the desire. It's amazing what you will find about life if you go out there and experience it, and see different places and cultures over the world, and come to your own conclusions. Have something to compare your life to. Finding what makes you happy, realising it, and going after if with enthusiasm and dedication. If your not giving your all, your giving up. Chase your passion. Make your own decisions. This is living. Such is life. I'm living my life the way I want, are you?